News and Trends
- IBPA is not doing a cooperative book display at Book Expo next year, ending a 30-year run. The Independent Book Publishers Association, a nonprofit that supports small publishers and independent authors, will no longer exhibit its members’ wares at the largest publishing industry trade show in the United States. Learn more in Shelf Awareness.
- Curious about hacking the New York Times bestseller list? Our piece last month touched on the latest attempt, and LitHub has rounded up eight “notable” attempts. Learn more from Emily Temple.
- There’s new financial help for nonprofit literary magazines. The Whiting Foundation has established a program of awards, matching grants, and organizational help for literary magazines. The announcement notes, “What distinguishes this prize is the call to action built into its design: winning magazines will be encouraged to strive for new, visionary goals—reaching for new talent and investing in their own sustainability, as well as their ability to bring their writers to a wider readership.” Learn more at the Whiting website.
- Tweeting about politics: yes or no? YA authors speak out about their philosophy and best practices when discussing current events and politics on social media. Read more from Karen Springen in Publishers Weekly.
Innovations
- Ebook distributor Draft2Digital has just launched a referral program. If you distribute through their platform and bring them a new customer by referring a friend, D2D will give you a 10 percent cut of its share of the royalties. Learn more at D2D’s blog.
- A brief history of interactive fiction, with a look at current developments: Interactive fiction has been associated with computer gaming and geek communities more than with mainstream publishing. The Bookseller’s two-part series shows what writers and publishers can learn about this market. Read Gus Swan’s discussion here and here.
- India is being discussed as an important up-and-coming publishing market. Two new articles highlight what’s happening in India: this piece from Mark Williams and another at Publishing Perspectives, both referring to Oxford University Press, which will begin publishing in Indian languages.
Marketing Toolbox
- The $3,000 book relaunch. Indie author Nicholas Erik offers a case study of his efforts to relaunch the first novel in his urban fantasy trilogy. Read at Kboards.
- Need a book marketing checklist? Tim Grahl offers a free, downloadable form at his website. Take a look.
- Clean website design is better. If you haven’t decluttered your author website, now’s the time. Learn more from Katharine Schwab at Co.Design.
- Ebook pricing in Europe: The folks at PublishDrive offer advice to indie authors on how to price appropriately in the EU, based on their own sales data. Learn more.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.